Wire Types ยท URD
We buy URD cable.
URD is bought on the reel and on the kilovolt. A drum of 15 kV primary with its concentric neutral intact is a different asset from a coil of 600 V secondary dragged out of a trench.
Call or text the buying desk954-740-1983
Voltage classes15 kV and 600 V secondary
ConstructionDirect burial, XLPE
MetalsAluminum, copper neutral
Common lotPart reels at phase end
Get a buy quote
Send the reel list. A buyer reads it.
Six details are enough to start. Tags and photos can follow by text or email once a buyer has looked at the basics.
- A buyer reviews the lot: construction, footage and condition, not only metal weight
- Copper and aluminium, 600 V building wire through 345 kV cable
- Full reels, partial reels, cut lengths, pallets and truckloads
- No fee, no obligation, and no automatic pickup
Reel list · URD
Reviewed by a buyerTell us what you have and where it sits. Nothing is moved until written lot terms are agreed.
Underground residential distribution is the cable that never enters a building. It runs from a padmount transformer to a meter, from a riser to a subdivision street, direct buried in caliche and clay. Primary is 15 kV single conductor with a copper concentric neutral; secondary is 600 V, usually twisted triplex or quadruplex in aluminum.
A seller usually holds the tail of a subdivision phase: a part reel of primary, several coils of secondary, and the odd length cut out during a dig-in repair. Contractors also retire whole drums when a pad is relocated and the run is re-made shorter.
01
Where URD runs in this county
Every subdivision built in recent decades has URD under the street. It is also the cable behind a shop building on a few acres, the feed to a well house, and the lateral to a construction trailer. Being direct buried, it stays invisible until somebody digs, which is why so much of it surfaces in short damaged pieces.
- Padmount to meter laterals
- Street primary between transformers
- Service to shops and outbuildings
- Well house and pump panel feeds
- Temporary construction power drops
02
Primary and secondary are two lots
Primary URD is a single insulated conductor surrounded by a concentric copper neutral, and that neutral is a real part of the value. Secondary is a twisted assembly of two or three insulated conductors, all aluminum in most local work. One drum of primary can outweigh a truckload of secondary coils, and the two should never be quoted as one line.
03
What a phase leaves on the rack
Subdivisions are built in blocks, so a closeout leaves part reels rather than full ones. The primary drum usually has a few hundred feet left, and the secondary comes back in coils of whatever the crew had in the truck. Both are normal, and both are priced on footage rather than on how the reel looks.
- Part drum of 15 kV primary
- Coils of triplex secondary
- Short secondary made up on site
- Damaged length from a dig-in
- Conductor retired from a pad relocation
04
Dig-in damage, water and aluminum
A direct-buried cable that has been nicked keeps working until it does not, and the nick is where water enters. Aluminum oxidises into a white powder that creeps under the insulation, so a length that looks sound can be chalky inside at both ends. We cut back and look before quoting.
Sun is the other enemy, on the part that sat above grade. URD jacket exposed for a summer cracks at the bend over the riser, and that is usually where the moisture starts.
| Product | Range | Condition we take |
|---|---|---|
| Primary, concentric neutral | 15 kV, 2 AWG to 1000 kcmil | Reel, long cut |
| Secondary triplex | 600 V, 2 AWG to 4/0 | Coil, part reel |
| Secondary quadruplex | 600 V, 1/0 to 350 kcmil | Coil, tagged length |
| Riser cable | 15 kV, 2 AWG to 500 kcmil | Reel with tag |
| Dig-in damaged length | Any | Priced after inspection |
Questions
Answers before you send anything.
If your question is not here, call the desk. A buyer answers, not a call centre.
Do you buy single conductors or only full assemblies?
Both. Primary is single conductor by definition. A single secondary conductor pulled out of a triplex is still bought, as a smaller lot, because the twist is what made it useful in the first place.
How is the concentric neutral valued?
As copper, and as part of the cable. The neutral is a substantial share of the metal in primary URD, so a drum with the neutral cut back at both ends is worth less than one with the neutral intact along its length.
Can you price a drum that has been in the yard for years?
Usually. Sun damage and a rusted reel are condition issues, not disqualifications. Send the tag if it exists, the conductor size and a photo of the exposed end, and the drum is quoted with the final figure set at the scale.
What length makes a URD coil worth collecting?
Fifty feet and up for primary, because the neutral and the insulation make even a short length worth handling. Secondary pays from about a hundred feet. Below that, put it in the same pile and call it one lot.
Keep reading
Related pages
No fee · no obligation
You have the cable. We have a scale and a check.
Send the reel list, the tags or a photograph of the pallet. A buyer comes back with what the lot is worth and how pickup would work, before anything is moved.
954-740-1983 Call or text
- Reel tags, or the print on the jacket
- Reel count and footage, even roughly
- Where it sits and what can reach it
- Whether the cable is still energised